26 dec 2014
A Palestinian man who was apparently attempting to cross the border from Gaza into Israel for work was shot by Israeli troops on Friday.
Two workers were apparently attempting to cross the border in the early hours of Friday morning when they were spotted by the Israeli soldiers stationed at the border and shot. One of the two men was hit, and wounded in the leg.
The wounded Palestinian has not yet been identified, but both he and his companion were taken into custody by Israeli troops for interrogation.
An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the shooting, which they said occurred when the two men entered the 'kill zone' along the border.
The economy of Gaza was largely dependent on Palestinians working inside Israel, which made up around 50% of Gaza's economy before the Israeli government imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007.
Since then, Palestinian workers from Gaza attempting to enter Israel have had to do so in violation of the blockade, since no work permits have been issued in the last seven years. They have been subject to abduction, interrogation and dozens have been shot and killed attempting to cross the border for work.
Two workers were apparently attempting to cross the border in the early hours of Friday morning when they were spotted by the Israeli soldiers stationed at the border and shot. One of the two men was hit, and wounded in the leg.
The wounded Palestinian has not yet been identified, but both he and his companion were taken into custody by Israeli troops for interrogation.
An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the shooting, which they said occurred when the two men entered the 'kill zone' along the border.
The economy of Gaza was largely dependent on Palestinians working inside Israel, which made up around 50% of Gaza's economy before the Israeli government imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007.
Since then, Palestinian workers from Gaza attempting to enter Israel have had to do so in violation of the blockade, since no work permits have been issued in the last seven years. They have been subject to abduction, interrogation and dozens have been shot and killed attempting to cross the border for work.
25 dec 2014
Israeli navy gunboats opened heavy fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Gaza on Thursday morning damaging a number of them.
Nizar Ayyash, the chairman of the Palestinian fishermen syndicate in Gaza, said the Israeli naval forces claimed that the fishermen exceeded the six nautical miles limit.
He said that though no casualties were suffered yet several boats were damaged in the attack, noting that the Israeli gunboats almost daily fire at Palestinian fishermen and obstruct their work.
In another development, eyewitnesses told Anadolu news agency that Israeli occupation forces opened gunfire at Palestinian farmland to the south of the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning.
Nizar Ayyash, the chairman of the Palestinian fishermen syndicate in Gaza, said the Israeli naval forces claimed that the fishermen exceeded the six nautical miles limit.
He said that though no casualties were suffered yet several boats were damaged in the attack, noting that the Israeli gunboats almost daily fire at Palestinian fishermen and obstruct their work.
In another development, eyewitnesses told Anadolu news agency that Israeli occupation forces opened gunfire at Palestinian farmland to the south of the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning.
A five-year-old Palestinian child on Wednesday afternoon suffered a serious eye injury when Israeli soldiers fired indiscriminately rubber bullets in Issawiya district.
According to local sources, the child, Mohamed Obeid, was getting off his school bus outside his parents' house when a rubber bullet hit his right eye.
The kid was rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in the holy city and underwent emergency surgery.
According to local sources, the child, Mohamed Obeid, was getting off his school bus outside his parents' house when a rubber bullet hit his right eye.
The kid was rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in the holy city and underwent emergency surgery.
The Palestinian information center (PIC) was told that Israeli border guard troops stormed Issawiya district and embarked on randomly firing rubber bullets as well as stun and tear gas grenades.
Last Ramadan, another child from Issawiya had suffered a similar eye injury during an Israeli violent raid.
Senior citizens from Issawiya held last night an urgent meeting and agreed on the need to seek help from international and local human rights groups to curb such Israeli violations.
They also called for necessarily conducting an impartial investigation into the shooting incident that caused a serious eye injury to the little child.
Last Ramadan, another child from Issawiya had suffered a similar eye injury during an Israeli violent raid.
Senior citizens from Issawiya held last night an urgent meeting and agreed on the need to seek help from international and local human rights groups to curb such Israeli violations.
They also called for necessarily conducting an impartial investigation into the shooting incident that caused a serious eye injury to the little child.
Jewish settlers assaulted a Palestinian worker on Wednesday while at work in 1948 occupied Palestine.
Local sources in the worker’s hometown of Bani Naim, east of al-Khalil, said that the young man Attiya Harahsha was beaten on his head, back, and limbs.
They said that he was hospitalized for treatment of moderate bruises sustained in the attack.
Local sources in the worker’s hometown of Bani Naim, east of al-Khalil, said that the young man Attiya Harahsha was beaten on his head, back, and limbs.
They said that he was hospitalized for treatment of moderate bruises sustained in the attack.
Israeli forces on Thursday evening detonated a car they claimed was filled with explosives on the main road linking Ramallah and the villages west of it.
The road, which leads to the villages of Beit Ur At-Tahta, Beit Ur al-Fouqa, and Safa, was closed in both directions, leading to major traffic jams for Palestinian commuters.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces were heavily deployed in the area Thursday evening, firing flares and looking for the individuals who owned the vehicle, which was empty at the time of the explosion.
An Israeli military spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
The road, which leads to the villages of Beit Ur At-Tahta, Beit Ur al-Fouqa, and Safa, was closed in both directions, leading to major traffic jams for Palestinian commuters.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces were heavily deployed in the area Thursday evening, firing flares and looking for the individuals who owned the vehicle, which was empty at the time of the explosion.
An Israeli military spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Wednesday nabbed four Palestinian citizens and left others wounded in a round of assaults launched across cities of the West Bank.
The IOF rounded up four Palestinian youths allegedly for having pipe bombs in their possession, the Israeli radio claimed Wednesday afternoon.
The IOF claimed to have confiscated the uncovered pipe bombs for neutralization.
During initial investigations at the scene, the suspects revealed their intention to carry out an attack against Israeli occupation soldiers, the same source further alleged.
In another development, two Palestinian youngsters sustained moderate live-bullet injuries in the wave of clashes that broke out in Beit Furik and Ourata towns, east of Nablus city.
The two young men, identified as Ahmad Mlitat and Shihab Nsasra, were rushed to the hospital to receive urgent treatment for the limb wounds they sustained in the Israeli assault.
Tension has also been running high in Jenin after scores of Palestinian civilians were choked by tear gas in the confrontations that flared up in Yabad town.
The invading IOF troops raided the town and discharged heavy barrages of tear gas and rubber bullets on the peaceful Palestinian youths, the Yabad Mayor reported.
Similar clashes cropped up in the West Bank city of al-Khalil, resulting in suffocation cases among the Palestinian civilians.
By-standers at the scene said the clashes broke out after the IOF troops assaulted al-Khalil’s Old city and targeted the schoolchildren with randomly-shot spates of tear gas grenades.
The IOF further broke into the Arroub refugee camp and cordoned it off with barbed wire purportedly to prevent Palestinians’ from hurling stones at the settlers.
The IOF rounded up four Palestinian youths allegedly for having pipe bombs in their possession, the Israeli radio claimed Wednesday afternoon.
The IOF claimed to have confiscated the uncovered pipe bombs for neutralization.
During initial investigations at the scene, the suspects revealed their intention to carry out an attack against Israeli occupation soldiers, the same source further alleged.
In another development, two Palestinian youngsters sustained moderate live-bullet injuries in the wave of clashes that broke out in Beit Furik and Ourata towns, east of Nablus city.
The two young men, identified as Ahmad Mlitat and Shihab Nsasra, were rushed to the hospital to receive urgent treatment for the limb wounds they sustained in the Israeli assault.
Tension has also been running high in Jenin after scores of Palestinian civilians were choked by tear gas in the confrontations that flared up in Yabad town.
The invading IOF troops raided the town and discharged heavy barrages of tear gas and rubber bullets on the peaceful Palestinian youths, the Yabad Mayor reported.
Similar clashes cropped up in the West Bank city of al-Khalil, resulting in suffocation cases among the Palestinian civilians.
By-standers at the scene said the clashes broke out after the IOF troops assaulted al-Khalil’s Old city and targeted the schoolchildren with randomly-shot spates of tear gas grenades.
The IOF further broke into the Arroub refugee camp and cordoned it off with barbed wire purportedly to prevent Palestinians’ from hurling stones at the settlers.
The UN called upon the Palestinians and Israelis to retain the ceasefire agreement they had signed five months ago and refrain from escalating the situation in Gaza.
UN humanitarian coordinator James Rawley expressed grave concern over the death of a Palestinian and the injury of an Israeli officer south of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Rawley pointed out that this development happened following a serious of armed incidents in Gaza since last November, and called on both parties to show restraint and respect the ceasefire agreement between them.
A resistance fighter from al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas was killed during a firefight with infiltrating Israeli troops east of Khan Younis.
This was the second Palestinian killed by the Israeli army since the open-ended ceasefire agreement took effect on August 26.
The Hamas Movement blamed the Israeli army for the deadly clash, saying that its soldiers had busted the border fence on Wednesday.
"The Israeli occupation is responsible for the tension east of Khan Younis. They tried to cross the border and opened fire at citizens, provoking a response from Hamas," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri stated in Facebook remarks.
Early last July, Israel had launched massive artillery and aerial attacks on Gaza for 51 days, killing more than 2,100 Palestinians and injuring thousands, mostly civilians.
UN humanitarian coordinator James Rawley expressed grave concern over the death of a Palestinian and the injury of an Israeli officer south of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Rawley pointed out that this development happened following a serious of armed incidents in Gaza since last November, and called on both parties to show restraint and respect the ceasefire agreement between them.
A resistance fighter from al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas was killed during a firefight with infiltrating Israeli troops east of Khan Younis.
This was the second Palestinian killed by the Israeli army since the open-ended ceasefire agreement took effect on August 26.
The Hamas Movement blamed the Israeli army for the deadly clash, saying that its soldiers had busted the border fence on Wednesday.
"The Israeli occupation is responsible for the tension east of Khan Younis. They tried to cross the border and opened fire at citizens, provoking a response from Hamas," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri stated in Facebook remarks.
Early last July, Israel had launched massive artillery and aerial attacks on Gaza for 51 days, killing more than 2,100 Palestinians and injuring thousands, mostly civilians.
24 dec 2014
Israeli settlers on Wednesday opened fire at Palestinian customs police near Salfit in the northern West Bank, local Palestinian sources said.
The sources said that customs police officers were on duty in the village of Badiya north of Salfit when a car with Israeli license plates opened fire directly at them.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
The sources said that Palestinian authorities have lodged a complaint at the office of the Israeli military liaison, and a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee to investigate the incident has been formed.
Around 550,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the West Bank, which has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
The sources said that customs police officers were on duty in the village of Badiya north of Salfit when a car with Israeli license plates opened fire directly at them.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
The sources said that Palestinian authorities have lodged a complaint at the office of the Israeli military liaison, and a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee to investigate the incident has been formed.
Around 550,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the West Bank, which has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday rounded up seven Palestinian civilians and mugged others in a round of assaults launched across cities of the West Bank.
Local official sources said the IOF kidnapped three Palestinian citizens, aged between 27 and 45 years old, from Qalqiliya province on their way back home from their workplaces.
The IOF troops nabbed another Palestinian civilian after they broke into his family home, scoured it, and seized a personal laptop and a mobile phone of his own.
A number of makeshift roadblocks were randomly pitched by the IOF at the main entrances to the province, where Palestinian vehicles and IDs were provocatively inspected.
A wave of combing operations rocked the neighborhoods of Douar al-Sharika, al-Nagaz, and Azoun in the process.
In a related development, the IOF on Tuesday afternoon came down heavily on a group of Palestinian civilians, mostly passengers, on way back home from the Karama crossing separating the Jordan Valley from the West Bank.
The IOF soldiers stationing at the checkpoint stopped Palestinians’ vehicles and interrogated the passengers in a remarkably abusive manner.
The IOF deliberately closed the crossing, leading to traffic congestion and long tailbacks crammed with passengers waiting to be allowed access out of the roadblock.
Meanwhile, sources based in Negev, south of the 1948 Occupied Palestine, said the Israeli authorities threatened to demolish seven Palestinian homes in the village under pretext of unlicensed construction.
A local committee in the Sa’wa village said the targeted homes have been the only shelters for a number of Palestinian women and children, dubbing the threat an attempt to forcibly deport Palestinians from their native soil.
Arab MK Talab Abu Arar slammed the Israeli occupation government, saying: “This government is a mechanism of demolition and destruction. It has been trying by every means available to knock down the homes of our families in villages and areas that it does not recognize, claiming it has nothing to do with such practices.”
Along the same line, a state of tension prevailed in al-Khalil after the IOF kidnapped the 21-year-old youth Ali Abu Ayesh at the main entrance to Beit Ummar and dragged him to an unknown location.
Earlier, some few hours ago, a boy was heavily beaten up and kidnapped by the IOF from al-Khalil city.
Another Palestinian youngster, from southern Nablus, was reportedly injured after the IOF attacked him with random gunshots and heavy beatings.
The IOF prevented the ambulance crews from reaching the wounded youth moments before they apprehended him.
Local official sources said the IOF kidnapped three Palestinian citizens, aged between 27 and 45 years old, from Qalqiliya province on their way back home from their workplaces.
The IOF troops nabbed another Palestinian civilian after they broke into his family home, scoured it, and seized a personal laptop and a mobile phone of his own.
A number of makeshift roadblocks were randomly pitched by the IOF at the main entrances to the province, where Palestinian vehicles and IDs were provocatively inspected.
A wave of combing operations rocked the neighborhoods of Douar al-Sharika, al-Nagaz, and Azoun in the process.
In a related development, the IOF on Tuesday afternoon came down heavily on a group of Palestinian civilians, mostly passengers, on way back home from the Karama crossing separating the Jordan Valley from the West Bank.
The IOF soldiers stationing at the checkpoint stopped Palestinians’ vehicles and interrogated the passengers in a remarkably abusive manner.
The IOF deliberately closed the crossing, leading to traffic congestion and long tailbacks crammed with passengers waiting to be allowed access out of the roadblock.
Meanwhile, sources based in Negev, south of the 1948 Occupied Palestine, said the Israeli authorities threatened to demolish seven Palestinian homes in the village under pretext of unlicensed construction.
A local committee in the Sa’wa village said the targeted homes have been the only shelters for a number of Palestinian women and children, dubbing the threat an attempt to forcibly deport Palestinians from their native soil.
Arab MK Talab Abu Arar slammed the Israeli occupation government, saying: “This government is a mechanism of demolition and destruction. It has been trying by every means available to knock down the homes of our families in villages and areas that it does not recognize, claiming it has nothing to do with such practices.”
Along the same line, a state of tension prevailed in al-Khalil after the IOF kidnapped the 21-year-old youth Ali Abu Ayesh at the main entrance to Beit Ummar and dragged him to an unknown location.
Earlier, some few hours ago, a boy was heavily beaten up and kidnapped by the IOF from al-Khalil city.
Another Palestinian youngster, from southern Nablus, was reportedly injured after the IOF attacked him with random gunshots and heavy beatings.
The IOF prevented the ambulance crews from reaching the wounded youth moments before they apprehended him.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday afternoon violently disbanded a peaceful Palestinian demo staged in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
A PIC correspondent said a non-violent march, bearing the slogan “The Road to Jerusalem,” was staged by the popular resistance committees, calling for opening a road to Occupied Jerusalem on the occasion of Christian holidays.
Heavy spates of tear gas canisters and sound bombs were discharged by the IOF moments before the demonstrators reached the so-called 300 checkpoint, leading to Occupied Jerusalem.
A number of suffocation cases was documented among the peaceful protesters due to prolonged exposure to tear gas.
The Israeli occupation soldiers targeted the journalists who partook in the rally with tear gas and heavy beatings.
A cameramen working for al-Aqsa TV Channel sustained injuries after a gas grenade hit his feet. A sound bomb hurled by an Israeli soldier turned his camera into rubble.
Cameramen Iyad Hamad, working for the AP, was also treated for suffocation due to heavy gas inhalation.
Spokesperson for the popular resistance committees in Eastern Jerusalem, Hani Halabiya, told a PIC journalist: “The demo came to transmit a message to the world with the advent of Christmas Day.”
“Palestinians have seen it all in Bethlehem. Israel’s oppressive tactics have taken different forms, starting from the checkpoints randomly pitched across the city, to the apartheid wall separating the offspring of the same motherland, and above all to the desecration of Muslims’ and Christians’ holy sites,” he added.
“This is a Nazi and fascist regime by excellence,” he said.
Meanwhile, the IOF kidnapped the 12-year-old child Rami Nadher Assaf in the clashes that broke out at the Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem.
A number of schoolchildren sustained critical breathing disorders due to prolonged exposure to tear gas heavily discharged by the IOF on the pupils on their way back home from morning classes.
A PIC correspondent said a non-violent march, bearing the slogan “The Road to Jerusalem,” was staged by the popular resistance committees, calling for opening a road to Occupied Jerusalem on the occasion of Christian holidays.
Heavy spates of tear gas canisters and sound bombs were discharged by the IOF moments before the demonstrators reached the so-called 300 checkpoint, leading to Occupied Jerusalem.
A number of suffocation cases was documented among the peaceful protesters due to prolonged exposure to tear gas.
The Israeli occupation soldiers targeted the journalists who partook in the rally with tear gas and heavy beatings.
A cameramen working for al-Aqsa TV Channel sustained injuries after a gas grenade hit his feet. A sound bomb hurled by an Israeli soldier turned his camera into rubble.
Cameramen Iyad Hamad, working for the AP, was also treated for suffocation due to heavy gas inhalation.
Spokesperson for the popular resistance committees in Eastern Jerusalem, Hani Halabiya, told a PIC journalist: “The demo came to transmit a message to the world with the advent of Christmas Day.”
“Palestinians have seen it all in Bethlehem. Israel’s oppressive tactics have taken different forms, starting from the checkpoints randomly pitched across the city, to the apartheid wall separating the offspring of the same motherland, and above all to the desecration of Muslims’ and Christians’ holy sites,” he added.
“This is a Nazi and fascist regime by excellence,” he said.
Meanwhile, the IOF kidnapped the 12-year-old child Rami Nadher Assaf in the clashes that broke out at the Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem.
A number of schoolchildren sustained critical breathing disorders due to prolonged exposure to tear gas heavily discharged by the IOF on the pupils on their way back home from morning classes.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday afternoon kidnapped a wounded Palestinian youth after he was bitten and mauled by police dogs unleashed during the clashes that burst out in Beit Ummar, north of the West Bank city of al-Khalil.
Mohamed Awad, media spokesperson for the Popular Committee against Settlement in Beit Ummar, told the WAFA News Agency that the 16-year-old minor Hamza Ahmad Khalil Abu Hashem sustained moderate injuries after he was attacked by two police dogs unleashed by two masked Israeli soldiers on a group of Palestinian unarmed youngsters during the confrontations.
The dogs attacked the boy and pounced on him moments before the Israeli occupation soldiers apprehended the bleeding child and dragged him to the Karmi Tsur settlement, Awad added.
The IOF discharged heavy barrages of tear gas on the boy’s family after the latter protested at such an arbitrary arrest.
A number of Hamza’s family members and civilians were treated for breathing disorders in the process due to heavy gas inhalation.
The Israeli occupation soldiers attacked activist Awad in an attempt to rob him of his cameras after he captured live snapshots and videos of an IOF soldier pitching an ambush to trap Palestinian young men.
Three Palestinians Kidnapped In Nablus And Hebron
Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Tuesday evening, three Palestinians from the southern West Bank district of Hebron, and the northern West Bank district of Nablus. Army dogs also mauled a child before the soldiers kidnapped him.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) said several military vehicles invaded Beit Ummar town, near Hebron, and kidnapped Mohammad Sami Abu ‘Ayyash, 21, near the main entrance of the town.
The soldiers also invaded, and violently searched, a number of homes in the town, causing excessive property damage.
Mohammad Awad, spokesperson of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, said a child identified as Hamza Ahmad Abu Hashem, 16, was injured after two army dogs mauled him in the ath-Thaher area, close to Karmie Tzur illegal settlement, south of Beit Ummar.
Awad said Abu Hashem suffered moderate wounds, and was bleeding from several parts of his body before the soldiers placed him in a military ambulance and drove to an unknown destination.
He added that the incident took place following an argument between members of the Abu Hashem family and a group of fanatic Israeli settlers, and that the soldiers arrived at the scene and fired gas bombs at the Palestinian family, causing several residents to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Awad stated that the soldiers attacked Abu Hashem as he was filming them invading the town, and trying to ambush local youths, and confiscated his camera.
In addition, soldiers invaded Huwwara town, south of Nablus, kidnapped one Palestinian after violently assaulting him, and took him to an unknown destination.
The identity of the detained Palestinian remained unidentified until the time of this report.
Local sources said the soldiers also invaded and ransacked a number of homes in Huwwara, and clashed with several youths.
The army fired gas bombs, rounds of live ammunition and concussion grenades; no injuries were reported.
Mohamed Awad, media spokesperson for the Popular Committee against Settlement in Beit Ummar, told the WAFA News Agency that the 16-year-old minor Hamza Ahmad Khalil Abu Hashem sustained moderate injuries after he was attacked by two police dogs unleashed by two masked Israeli soldiers on a group of Palestinian unarmed youngsters during the confrontations.
The dogs attacked the boy and pounced on him moments before the Israeli occupation soldiers apprehended the bleeding child and dragged him to the Karmi Tsur settlement, Awad added.
The IOF discharged heavy barrages of tear gas on the boy’s family after the latter protested at such an arbitrary arrest.
A number of Hamza’s family members and civilians were treated for breathing disorders in the process due to heavy gas inhalation.
The Israeli occupation soldiers attacked activist Awad in an attempt to rob him of his cameras after he captured live snapshots and videos of an IOF soldier pitching an ambush to trap Palestinian young men.
Three Palestinians Kidnapped In Nablus And Hebron
Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Tuesday evening, three Palestinians from the southern West Bank district of Hebron, and the northern West Bank district of Nablus. Army dogs also mauled a child before the soldiers kidnapped him.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) said several military vehicles invaded Beit Ummar town, near Hebron, and kidnapped Mohammad Sami Abu ‘Ayyash, 21, near the main entrance of the town.
The soldiers also invaded, and violently searched, a number of homes in the town, causing excessive property damage.
Mohammad Awad, spokesperson of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, said a child identified as Hamza Ahmad Abu Hashem, 16, was injured after two army dogs mauled him in the ath-Thaher area, close to Karmie Tzur illegal settlement, south of Beit Ummar.
Awad said Abu Hashem suffered moderate wounds, and was bleeding from several parts of his body before the soldiers placed him in a military ambulance and drove to an unknown destination.
He added that the incident took place following an argument between members of the Abu Hashem family and a group of fanatic Israeli settlers, and that the soldiers arrived at the scene and fired gas bombs at the Palestinian family, causing several residents to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Awad stated that the soldiers attacked Abu Hashem as he was filming them invading the town, and trying to ambush local youths, and confiscated his camera.
In addition, soldiers invaded Huwwara town, south of Nablus, kidnapped one Palestinian after violently assaulting him, and took him to an unknown destination.
The identity of the detained Palestinian remained unidentified until the time of this report.
Local sources said the soldiers also invaded and ransacked a number of homes in Huwwara, and clashed with several youths.
The army fired gas bombs, rounds of live ammunition and concussion grenades; no injuries were reported.